The History of Hinduism

Hinduism is the western
term for the religious beliefs and practices of the vast majority of the
people of India. One of the oldest living religions in the world,
Hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it had no single
founder but grew over a period of 4,000 years in syncretism with the
religious and cultural movements of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is
composed of innumerable sects and has no well-defined ecclesiastical
organization. Its two most general features are the caste system and acceptance of the Vedaas the most sacred scriptures.

Early Hinduism

Hinduism is a synthesis of
the religion brought into India by the Aryans (c.1500 B.C.) and
indigenous religion. The first phase of Hinduism was early Brahmanism,
the religion of the priests or Brahmanswho performed the Vedic
sacrifice, through the power of which proper relation with the gods and
the cosmos is established. The Veda comprises the liturgy and
interpretation of the sacrifice and culminates in the Upanishads, mystical and speculative
works that state the doctrine of Brahman, the absolute reality
that is the self of all things, and its identity with the individual
soul, or atman. Later Upanishads refer to the practices ofyogaand contain theistic elements that
are fully developed in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Post-Vedic Hinduism in all
its forms accepts the doctrine of karma, according to which the
individual reaps the results of his good and bad actions through a
series of lifetimes. Also universally accepted is the goal of moksha or mukti, liberation from suffering and from the compulsion to
rebirth, which is attainable through elimination of passions and through
knowledge of reality and finally union with God.

Responses to Buddhism and Jainism

In
the middle of the first millennium B.C., an ossified Brahmanism was challenged
by heterodox, i.e., non-Vedic, systems, notably Buddhismand Jainism. The priestly elite responded by
creating a synthesis that accepted yogic practices and their goals, recognized
the gods and image worship of popular devotional movements, and adopted greater
concern for the daily life of the people. There was an increase in writings,
such as the Laws of Manu, dealing with dharma, or duty, not only as applied to the
sacrifice but to every aspect of life. Their basic principle is varna-ashrama-dharma, or dharma in accordance with varna (class or caste) and ashrama (stage of life). The four classes are the
Brahmans, Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (farmers and merchants), and Shudras
(laborers). The four stages of life are brahmacharya or celibate student
life (originally for study of the Veda), grihastha or householdership, vanaprastha or forest hermitage, and sannyasa, complete renunciation
of all ties with society and pursuit of spiritual liberation. (In practical
terms these stages were not strictly adhered to. The two main alternatives have
continued to be householdership and the ascetic life.) The entire system was
conceived as ideally ensuring both the proper function of society as an
integrated whole and the fulfillment of the individual's needs through his
lifetime.

The
post-Vedic Puranas deal with these themes. They also elaborate the myths
of the popular gods. They describe the universe as undergoing an eternally
repeated cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution, represented by the
trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer as
aspects of the Supreme.

Medieval and Modern Developments

In
medieval times the esoteric ritual and yoga of Tantra and sects of fervent
devotion arose and flourished. The groundswell of devotion produced poet-saints
all over India who wrote religious songs and composed versions of the epics in
their vernaculars. This literature plays an essential part in present-day
Hinduism, as do puja, or worship of enshrined deities, and pilgrimage to sacred
places. The most popular deities include Vishnu and his incarnations Rama and Krishna, Shiva, the elephant-headed god Ganesha, and the Mother-Goddess or Devi, who appears as the terrible Kali or Durga but also as Sarasvati, the
goddess of music and learning, and as Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. All the
gods and goddesses, each of which has numerous aspects, are regarded as
different forms of the one Supreme Being. Modern Hindu leaders such as Swami
Vivekananda, Mohandas Gandhi, and Aurobindo Ghose, have given voice to a
movement away from the traditional ideal of world-renunciation and asceticism
and have asserted the necessity of uniting spiritual life with social concerns.

After independence in 1947 the impact of Hinduism on the political life of a
country in which more than 80% of the people are adherents was moderated by the
long-term rule of the Congress party, which has striven to maintain a secular
democracy. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims, however, have long been a fact
of life in India, as evidenced in the creation of Pakistan, the conflict over
Kashmir, and the subsequent wars between India and Pakistan. There have also
been tensions with the Sikh minority, some of whom have sought independence for
the Punjab, leading to violence in the 1980s.

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